Central Michigan University
Akron
An Inside Job
1/10/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Central Michigan can get out and run and shoot the ball with the best of 'em.
When it comes to the post, few can match Akron and Isaiah Johnson.
Johnson, a 6-foot-10, 290-pound senior, scored a career-high 33 points Tuesday in leading the Zips to an 89-85 victory over CMU in a Mid-American Conference men's basketball game at McGuirk Arena.
"Nobody else in the league has Isaiah Johnson - their other players are really talented too - but when you have a guy that you can center your entire offense around and go to on almost every possession, we didn't have the answer for that," CMU coach Keno Davis said.
It was the third consecutive loss for the Chippewas 10-6, 0-3 MAC. They play host to Toledo, 9-7, 2-1 on Friday (7 p.m.). The Rockets lost at Western Michigan, 90-74, on Tuesday.
Akron, which was picked to win the MAC in the preseason poll, won its sixth consecutive game to improve to 13-3, 3-0.
"Not only did we get beat by a good team tonight, I think we got beat by a great team," Davis said. "There's no doubt in my mind from watching them that they're deserving of that preseason recognition of being the best team in the league."
Marcus Keene scored 33 points and Braylon Rayson added 27 for CMU, which took an 81-80 lead on a Keene layup with 3:01 to play.
But Johnson, as he seemingly did all night, answered 18 seconds later to put the Zips back in front, 82-81. The Chippewas never regained the lead. The dagger came on an Antino Jackson 3-pointer with 21 seconds left that made it 88-83.
Kwan Cheatham added 19 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds for the Zips.
Akron outrebounded the Chippewas, 41-34 including a 16-8 edge in offensive boards. The Zips had 21 second-chance points to the Chippewas' 4.
It fell to CMU's bigs, Luke Meyer and DaRohn Scott, to try to contain Johnson, who finished 11-for-19 from the floor. Cecil Williams led CMU with eight rebounds.
"One-on-one, he's just too big for anybody," Rayson said. "It's a difficult task. That's why Akron's one of the best teams in the league. Both of our bigs, they played their hearts out today. I think they did all they could do down there."
Davis said there were plenty of encouraging signs from his team, which played a similar game at Northern Illinois on Saturday, losing 87-83.
"Luke and DaRohn are getting much better, but you see (Johnson) and the impact that he has on their team," he said. "Luke and DaRohn are only going to get better as players and they're going to be better from this game the next time that they have a matchup like that.
"I think you're seeing glimpses from both of them of being really good players in this league and I know they're working hard to get there."
Keene and Rayson combined to finish 21-for-42 from the floor, including 6-for-15 from 3-point range, and were 12-for-14 from the free throw line. No other Chippewa scored more than seven points.
CMU has had a tough row to hoe early in the conference season, traveling to Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois, traditionally two of the more difficult trips in the league, and then taking on the league favorite.
"The beginning of the conference schedule has been tough for us," Davis said, "but you have to play all these games at some point and I don't think there's any reason that we can't respond and be one of the better teams in the league when we hit March."
